Her Majesty (65 page)

The most spectacular approach to Windsor Castle is from the Long Walk, to the south, as President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is discovering.

Toasting the President of Mexico;

finger bowls and Queen Victoria’s Minton dessert service awaiting the fruit course;

words of welcome for the Sarkozys at St George’s Hall, Windsor. The table is the longest in Britain.

A souvenir from staff at Aldgate Tube station during a tour of the City of London.

En route to a Palace investiture. The Queen is accompanied by her Lord Chamberlain, Earl Peel.

Familiar faces at the opening of the Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne.

A Palace reception during the 2009 G20 Summit in London.

Formal and informal moments for the G20 leaders and their host, Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

May 2010. Mr Brown’s successor, David Cameron, becomes the Queen’s 12th British Prime Minister. Across her realms, there have been more than 150.

The Royal Family’s Highland retreat, Balmoral.

End of an era. The Royal Yacht (1953-97), enters Hong Kong harbour ahead of the colony’s return to China. It was
Britannia
’s last voyage.